Martin Parr was a decades long constant in photography who was known for his super saturated, contrasty images, both literally and metaphorically. Awarded a CBE in 2021, which for non-UK listeners is rather a big deal, and the subject of a beautiful documentary in 2024, I wanted to remember Martin who for me is up there with other British cultural icons like Vivienne Westwood, David Bowie and Alexander McQueen. When we think of British cultural exports it’s safe to say Martin’s work will be remembered along with Paul Smith, Monty Python, Doctor Who, The Beatles and the Mini Cooper.

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A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Judah Passow is a photojournalist from the US who has worked and lived in the UK since the 70s. He has seen the newspaper business he came up in change significantly and we discuss the fact that he has had to self fund his most recent project because it’s nigh on impossible to find funding for projects any other way these days. His images shot over 25 years of conflict between Israel and Palestine are arresting and unfortunately as relevant today as when he first went out there around 40 years ago.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Kevin Fickling is an American photographer, producer and craftsman. He wears many hats and our chat covers how he got into stills photography by way of video, some lenses he’s shared with the world that are now being used in big name productions and we even treat ourselves to the shutter sound of one of his favourite cameras. It’s a treat to sit down with someone who has such interesting creative ideas and is working with clients to bring unusual ways of seeing to life. He’s helping them to take creative risks and I think that it’s paying off in his imagery. This is a lovely chat and hopefully the first of many.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Richard Koek is a photographer born in The Netherlands who moved to the US and now calls New York his home. He has made a name for himself shooting the streets around the world making commercial work and two books on New York and Tokyo respectively. I really enjoy his outsiders perspective on the places he goes and we discuss in the conversation whether another book is on the way. Richard also has a project he’s working on with Polaroids which you can see on his website and even finds time to send out monthly postcards from New York all over the world, which is how we met.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

My guest today is Krystle Wright. Krystle is an award winning Australian photographer who has traveled the world climbing, base jumping and storm chasing to make some truly incredible images. I discovered her through the National Geographic series Photographer. If you’ve not seen it, I can highly recommend it, it’s an incredible series filled with folks making great work. Krystle’s episode is my favourite so I contacted her to see if I could get her to come onto the show. As you’ll hear, her path hasn’t always been an easy one. This is a frank conversation with Krystle, I hope you enjoy it.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

This week as a midweek treat I’m bringing back a previous guest, Ali O’Keefe. Ali continues to play with old cameras on her One Month, Two Cameras channel, but it’s one of her newer acquisitions that I wanted to talk to her about. The conversation picks up as we both agree that we’re only getting better with age.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Ray Di Pietro is a working photojournalist based in Nashville. From political candidates to protests, street scenes to t-shirts he shoots it all. I found him almost by accident when searching on Instagram and was struck by his style and felt like we’d get on. I was proved right by this wonderful conversation which I think you’ll all enjoy and which starts and finishes with Ray’s attire which compliments the way he shows up every day.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

I asked Stasia if she would be up for speaking with me about her book, Ephemerality, for a little midweek episode this week. She’s fantastic company so the excuse to get her on a call seemed like a good one. Of course, because it’s me, we talk the book but we also talk about future guest Krystle Wright, my one camera rule, sensor cleaning, Irn-Bru and haggis.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

Nitrate Fox is a wet plate portrait photographer who has made a name for herself shooting incredible hand crafted tintypes and most recently has released a book of Roller Derby players shot all over the USA. As you’ll hear, she put herself through it to create this body of work. She was a fantastic guest using a very specialist process to make magical images and I hope you enjoy this conversation.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.

This week in a special episode I speak to Dan Rubin about his beta testing of the new software by Affinity and what a powerful and free. creative suite of tools means for the next generation of creatives.

More about this show:

A camera is just a tool but spend enough time with photographers and you’ll see them go misty eyed when they talk about their first camera or a small fast prime that they had in their youth. Prime Lenses is a series of interviews with photographers talking about their photography by way of three lenses that mean a lot to them. These can be interchangeable, attached to a camera, integrated into a gadget, I’m interested in the sometimes complex relationship we have with the tools we choose, why they can mean so much and how they make us feel.